Water vapor distillation apparatus, method and system

ABSTRACT

A system for water dispensing. The system includes a housing comprising a first and second portion; a water vapor distillation apparatus housed in the first portion of the housing, the water vapor distillation apparatus producing a distilled water product; at least one storage tank housed in the second portion of the housing and fluidly connected to the water vapor distillation apparatus; at least one pump housed in the second portion of the housing and fluidly connected to the at least one storage tank; and at least one appliance located outside of the housing and fluidly connected to the at least one pump, wherein the distilled water product is stored in the at least one storage tank and the pump pumps water from the at least one storage tank to the at least one appliance.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/856,828, filed Sep. 17, 2015 and entitled Water VaporDistillation Apparatus, Method and System now U.S. Pat. No. 10,689,263issued Jun. 23, 2020, which is a Non-Provisional Application whichclaims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/051,646, filed Sep. 17, 2014 and entitled Water Vapor DistillationApparatus, Method and System, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to water distillation and moreparticularly, to a water vapor distillation apparatus, method, andsystem.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A dependable source of clean water eludes vast segments of humanity. Forexample, the Canadian International Development Agency reports thatabout 1.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Publishedreports attribute millions and millions of deaths per year, mostlychildren, to water related diseases. Many water purification techniquesare well known, including carbon filters, chlorination, pasteurization,and reverse osmosis. Many of these techniques are significantly affectedby variations in the water quality and do not address a wide variety ofcommon contaminants, such as bacteria, viruses, organics, arsenic, lead,mercury, and pesticides that may be found in water supplies in thedeveloping world and elsewhere. Some of these systems require access toa supply of consumables, such as filters or chemicals. Moreover, some ofthese techniques are only well suited to centralized, large-scale watersystems that require both a significant infrastructure and highlytrained operators. The ability to produce reliable clean water withoutregard to the water source, on a smaller, decentralized scale, withoutthe need for consumables and constant maintenance is very desirable,particularly in the developing world. The use of vapor compressiondistillation to purify water is well known and may address many of theseconcerns. However, the poor financial resources, limited technicalassets, and low population density that does not make it feasible tobuild centralized, large-scale water systems in much of the developingworld, also limits the availability of adequate, affordable, andreliable power to operate vapor compression distillation systems, aswell as hindering the ability to properly maintain such systems. In suchcircumstances, an improved vapor compression distillation system andassociated components that increases efficiency and productioncapability, while decreasing the necessary power budget for systemoperation and the amount of system maintenance required may provide asolution.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a system forwater dispensing is disclosed. The system includes a housing comprisinga first and second portion; a water vapor distillation apparatus housedin the first portion of the housing, the water vapor distillationapparatus producing a distilled water product; at least one storage tankhoused in the second portion of the housing and fluidly connected to thewater vapor distillation apparatus; at least one pump housed in thesecond portion of the housing and fluidly connected to the at least onestorage tank; and at least one appliance located outside of the housingand fluidly connected to the at least one pump, wherein the distilledwater product is stored in the at least one storage tank and the pumppumps water from the at least one storage tank to the at least oneappliance. Some embodiments may include one or more of the following:wherein the housing comprising a cabinet and a counter; furtherincluding at least one electronics box housed in the second portion ofthe housing; further including at least one chiller housed in the secondportion of the housing; further including at least one sensor in the atleast one storage tank; wherein the at least one sensor comprising avolume full sensor; wherein the at least one sensor comprising an emptytank sensor; wherein the at least one sensor comprising a volume fullsensor and a empty tank sensor, wherein the volume full sensor and theempty tank sensor are switches with hysteresis; wherein when the volumefull sensor and empty tank sensor indicate the storage tank is below athreshold, the volume full sensor or empty tank sensor turns the watervapor distillation apparatus on; wherein when the volume full sensor andempty tank sensor indicate the storage tank is above a threshold, thevolume full sensor or empty tank sensor turns the water vapordistillation apparatus off; wherein the second section furthercomprising an accumulator; wherein the at least one pump pumps waterfrom the storage tank to the accumulated and then into a chiller.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a system forwater dispensing is disclosed. The system includes a housing including afirst and second portion, a water vapor distillation apparatus housed inthe first portion of the housing, the water vapor distillation apparatusproducing a distilled water product, at least one storage tank housed inthe second portion of the housing and fluidly connected to the watervapor distillation apparatus, an accumulator housing in the secondportion of the housing and fluidly connected to the at least one storagetank, at least one pump housed in the second portion of the housing andfluidly connected to the at least one storage tank and the accumulator,and at least one appliance located outside of the housing and fluidlyconnected to the at least one pump, wherein the distilled water productis stored in the at least one storage tank and the pump pumps water fromthe at least one storage tank to the at least one appliance.

Some embodiments may include one or more of the following: wherein thehousing comprising a cabinet and a counter; further including at leastone electronics box housed in the second portion of the housing; furtherincluding at least one chiller housed in the second portion of thehousing; further including at least one sensor in the at least onestorage tank; wherein the at least one sensor comprising a volume fullsensor; wherein the at least one sensor comprising an empty tank sensor;wherein the at least one sensor comprising a volume full sensor and aempty tank sensor, wherein the volume full sensor and the empty tanksensor are switches with hysteresis; wherein when the volume full sensorand empty tank sensor indicate the storage tank is below a threshold,the volume full sensor or empty tank sensor turns the water vapordistillation apparatus on; wherein when the volume full sensor and emptytank sensor indicate the storage tank is above a threshold, the volumefull sensor or empty tank sensor turns the water vapor distillationapparatus off; wherein the at least one pump pumps water from thestorage tank to the accumulated and then into a chiller.

These aspects of the invention are not meant to be exclusive and otherfeatures, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will bereadily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when read inconjunction with the appended claims and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will bebetter understood by reading the following detailed description, takentogether with the drawings wherein:

FIGS. 1-7 show various views and embodiments of a water vapordistillation system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In various embodiments, any one or more of the various embodiments ofthe water vapor distillation apparatus described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/052,195, now U.S. Publication No. 2014/0202542A1 and entitled Fluid Delivery Systems and Methods, filed 26 Jul. 2013and published on 24 Jul. 2014, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,359,877 B2 andentitled Water Vending Apparatus, which was issued 29 Jan. 2013, inwhich the entire disclosures of each are herein incorporated byreference in their entireties may be used as an under-the-counterappliance and in various embodiments, the under-the-counter applianceembodiment of the water vapor distillation apparatus may be fluidlyconnected to one or more appliances and/or water dispensing and/orbeverage dispensing appliances and/or apparatus. In some embodiments,the water vapor distillation apparatus described in the aboveincorporated references may be modified and in some of theseembodiments, modification may include, but is not limited to, modifyingthe height of the evaporator/condenser and/or liquid heat exchanger.

Referring now also to FIGS. 1-7, in various embodiments, any of theembodiments of the water vapor distillation apparatus shown and/ordescribed in the above-incorporated references may be included in asystem for water dispensing. The system includes a housing which, insome embodiments, is a cabinet with a counter. In some embodiments, thecabinet with a counter may be 36 inches tall and 25 inches deep, and/ora standard counter height and depth. In other embodiments, the cabinetwith a counter may be any height or depth desired.

In various embodiments, the cabinet may include one or more sections andin some embodiments, the cabinet may include two sections. In someembodiments, a first section is included, which may be similar to the“hot section” shown and described in the above-incorporated references,wherein the hot components of the water vapor distillation apparatus arehoused in the hot section. In some embodiments, a second section whichmay be similar to the “cold section” shown and described in theabove-incorporated references, wherein the cold components (orcomponents that may be desirable not to be kept in a hot section) of thewater vapor distillation apparatus are housed in the cold section. Thesecold components may include, but are not limited to, one or more waterstorage tanks (or at least one storage tank), one or more electronicsboxes (which may be termed “e-box”) (or at least one electronics box),one or more pumps (or at least one pump) and one or more chillers (or atleast one chiller). In various embodiments, the water vapor distillationapparatus produces distilled water which flows from the water vapordistillation apparatus into the storage tank/buffering tank.

In various embodiments, the at least one storage tank/buffering tank maybe any size, but in some embodiments, may be 7 gallons or may be 5gallons. However, any size tank may be used in various embodiments. Invarious embodiments, a storage tank/buffering tank may be desirable toprovide water at peak demand times and/or to run the water vapordistillation apparatus to fill to storage tank to the desired volume andthen turn off the water vapor distillation until and unless the volumein the storage tank falls below a predetermined threshold. In variousembodiments, the storage tank/buffering tank may include one or moresensors and in some embodiments may include at least a volume fullsensor and an empty tank sensor. In some embodiments, the volume fullsensor and the empty tank sensor may be switches with hysteresis. Insome embodiments, when the when the sensors indicate that the storagetank/buffering tank is below a threshold, the sensor turns the watervapor distillation apparatus on and when the sensors indicate that thestorage tank/buffering tank is above a threshold, the sensor turns thewater vapor distillation apparatus off. In various embodiments, thestorage tank/buffering tank may have additional sensors includingadditional volume sensors.

In various embodiments, the second section, or cold section, may alsoinclude an accumulator. In various embodiments, an accumulator may bedesirable/beneficial for buffering the water between the storagetank/buffering tank and the one or more appliance and/or apparatus. Theaccumulator provides for a smooth/continuous stream of water dispensingto the one or more appliance and/or apparatus.

The system may also include at least one pump, and in some embodiments,two or more pumps. The at least one pump pumps water from the storagetank/buffering tank to an appliance, for example, a KEURIG®machine/apparatus and/or another beverage dispensing apparatus and/or toanother apparatus, for example, a spigot for delivering water. In someembodiments, the pump may pump water from the storage tank/bufferingtank to an accumulator and then into a chiller, before the water isdelivered through, for example, a spigot. This may be desirable both forproviding a steady stream, rather than pulsitile stream, of water andfor providing chilled water. In some embodiments, two pumps are used,and in these embodiments, a first pump may be dedicated to pumping waterfrom the storage tank/buffering tank to the accumulator and the chillerand a second pump may be dedicated to pumping water from the storagetank/buffering tank to an appliance.

In various embodiments, the water vapor distillation apparatus fluidpaths may vary and in some embodiments, the hot product water may bypassthe liquid heat exchanger on demand and this hot product water may bediverted directly to an appliance and/or apparatus. In some embodiments,the hot product water may bypass the liquid heat exchanger on demand andthis hot product water may be diverted directly to storagetank/buffering tank. In some embodiments, the system may include aprocessor and the processor may be preprogrammed to schedule thebypassing of the hot water to a storage tank/buffering tank. Forexample, in some embodiments, it may be desirable/beneficial topreprogram the bypass for example for the morning and the afternoon.This may provide ample hot water in the storage tank/buffering tank fordelivery to a KEURIG® machine and/or other hot beverage dispenser, whichmay save time during this high demand times for hot beverages,including, for example, but not limited to, coffee and/or tea, in ashared appliance setting, for example.

In various embodiments, the spigot and/or KEURIG® machine (or any otherappliance or apparatus) may include a manual valve where, when open, theat least one pump detects a drop in pressure and turns the pump on, andwater is delivered to the spigot or other appliance or apparatus. Whenthe valve is closed, the pump detects a rise in pressure and then stopspumping water. In some embodiments, a first pump is fluidly connected tothe spigot and a second pump is fluidly connected to the KEURIG® machine(or any other appliance or apparatus). As discussed herein, in variousembodiments, a single pump may be used. In these embodiments, the pumpmay include a “T” in the fluid line leading out of the pump, where oneline leads to a chiller/spigot or other appliance or apparatus and theother leads to a KEURIG® machine (or any other appliance or apparatus)

The term KEURIG® machine is used herein, however, this disclosure is notlimited to a KEURIG® machine. Rather, any appliance and/or apparatus maybe used within the system disclosed herein. Other appliances mayinclude, but are not limited to, soda dispensers (including a SodaStream), water dispensers, coffee makers, electric kettles, juice maker,blenders, etc.

While the principles of the invention have been described herein, it isto be understood by those skilled in the art that this description ismade only by way of example and not as a limitation as to the scope ofthe invention. Other embodiments are contemplated within the scope ofthe present invention in addition to the exemplary embodiments shown anddescribed herein. Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinaryskill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for water dispensing comprising: a housing comprising a first and second portion; a hot beverage dispenser located separate from the housing; a water vapor distillation apparatus housed in the first portion, the water vapor distillation apparatus comprising an evaporator/condenser and a liquid heat exchanger, the evaporator/condenser producing a hot distilled water product, wherein a first amount of the hot distilled water product is directed to the hot beverage dispenser and a second amount is directed to the liquid heat exchanger; a storage tank fluidly connected to the hot beverage dispenser and the water vapor distillation apparatus; and a processor wherein the processor is preprogrammed to direct the first amount of hot distilled water product to the storage tank at a preprogrammed time.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a pump fluidly connected to the storage tank and the hot beverage dispenser, wherein the hot distilled water product is stored in the storage tank and the pump pumps water from the storage tank to the hot beverage dispenser.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second amount of the hot distilled water product that is not directed to the storage tank, flows through the liquid heat exchanger and exits as a distilled water product.
 4. A system for water dispensing comprising: a housing comprising a first and second portion; a hot beverage dispenser located outside from the housing; a water vapor distillation apparatus housed in the first portion, the water vapor distillation apparatus comprising an evaporator/condenser and a liquid heat exchanger, the evaporator/condenser producing a hot distilled water product, wherein the hot distilled water product either enters the liquid heat exchanger and exits as distilled water product or is diverted to the hot beverage dispenser; a storage tank housed in the second portion and fluidly connected to the liquid water vapor distillation apparatus, the storage tank stores distilled water product; a pump moves water from the storage tank to a water appliance; and a processor that is preprogrammed to direct hot distilled water product to the hot beverage dispenser at a preprogramed time.
 5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a chiller housed in the second portion.
 6. The system of claim 4, further comprising a sensor in the storage tank.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the sensor comprises a volume full sensor.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the sensor comprises an empty tank sensor.
 9. The system of claim 6, wherein the sensor comprises a volume full sensor and an empty tank sensor, wherein the volume full sensor and the empty tank sensor are switches with hysteresis.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein when the volume full sensor and empty tank sensor indicate the storage tank is below a threshold, the volume full sensor or empty tank sensor turns the water vapor distillation apparatus on.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein when the volume full sensor and empty tank sensor indicate the storage tank is above a threshold, the volume full sensor or empty tank sensor turns the water vapor distillation apparatus off.
 12. The system of claim 4, wherein an accumulator is fluidly connected to the storage tank and to the water appliance, the pump moves water from the storage tank to the accumulator and then into a chiller. 